hank

¹

[hangk]

noun

1. a skein, as of thread or yarn.

2. a definite length of thread or yarn.

   A hank of cotton yarn measures 840 yards.

3. a coil, knot, or loop.

   a hank of hair.

4. Nautical.,  a ring, link, or shackle for securing the luff of a staysail or jib to its stay or the luff or head of a gaff sail to the mast or gaff.

verb (used with object)

1. Nautical.,  to fasten (a sail) by means of hanks.

Hank

²

[hangk]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Henry.

hank

/ hæŋk /

noun

1. a loop, coil, or skein, as of rope, wool, or yarn

2. nautical a ringlike fitting that can be opened to admit a stay for attaching the luff of a sail

3. a unit of measurement of cloth, yarn, etc, such as a length of 840 yards (767 m) of cotton or 560 yards (512 m) of worsted yarn

verb

1. (tr) nautical to attach (a sail) to a stay by hanks

Other Word Forms

• unhanked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hank¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Old Norse hǫnk hank, coil, skein, clasp; akin to hang

Word History and Origins

Origin of hank¹

C13: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse hanka to coil, Swedish hank string

Example Sentences

Mary looked up quickly from the hank of yarn she was winding into a ball.

From Literature

Some people looked at Daniel Jones and saw a nondescript kid with a square haircut, a hank of side-comb running across his forehead in a straight line, and decided he was terminally unremarkable.

From Washington Post

A work from 1935, “Rope and People, I,” combines mediums—an affixed hank of heavy rope is surrounded by painted images of distressed personages.

From The New Yorker

Sunshine twisted a hank of long blonde hair around her hand.

From Salon

He ripped an old conch shell off a hank of dead man’s fingers and tossed it aside.

From Literature

Related Words

• curve 
• flourish